Ningaloo Reef study to research jellyfish species and their impact on marine ecosystem

Research is underway on the Ningaloo coast, on north-west Western Australia, to gain a better understanding of the different jellyfish species in the area.

Large blooms of jellyfish have been spotted in the Ningaloo region in recent years but little is known about why they occur and what effect they have on the marine ecosystem.

Brooke Ingram, an honours student at Griffith University in Queensland, has teamed up with the Department of Parks and Wildlife in Exmouth to conduct the study.

She said she was aiming to gather data that would educate tourists as well.

"The majority of jellyfish I have found either don't really give a sting or the sting they do give is not really that painful, it's sort of a nuisance thing," she said.

"We are hoping to be able to get out a bit of a poster or something like that that can give people coming to Exmouth and Coral Bay a little bit more information about the different types of jellyfish they may find at Ningaloo Reef."

The department recently issued a warning to Ningaloo visitors about irukandji jellyfish after a number of reported stings.